


You Make Breathing Impossible

by OfAllTheGinJoints_InAllTheTowns



Category: Fifth Harmony (Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-08-13 13:13:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7977961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfAllTheGinJoints_InAllTheTowns/pseuds/OfAllTheGinJoints_InAllTheTowns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Camila falls for her best friend's older sister and everything slowly goes downhill after that.<br/>[CURRENTLY UNDERGOING EDITING-more chapters to follow] (5/7/17)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Freshman Year

Camila is 14 when she first realizes that being a teenager is confusing as fuck.

It all starts on a gloomy night when the sky is still deciding if it wants to rain or not, and Camila and her two best friends opt to sit in the basement and watch horror movies until two in the morning. It’s the summer before freshman year and the girls are buzzing with the excitement of growing up and moving on to the bigger and better. They dream about all the typical high school clichés: The big parties with alcohol and boys and weed, finding their first love, and shitty cafeteria food that only redeems itself on pizza Fridays. All the while they laugh about how stupid they were in middle school. Dinah Jane Hansen and Taylor Jauregui have been her two constants since she first moved to Miami in Sixth grade. Every Friday night since Dinah and Taylor invited the timid girl to sit with them at lunch, the girls would meet at the Jauregui house for a sleepover.

Camila remembers her first time at the Jauregui household very vividly. She remembers Mike’s big smile and Clara’s warm voice welcoming her in. She thinks about how Chris, 15 at the time, was yelling at the football game on the TV and throwing popcorn all about in his momentary rage. She can still, embarrassingly enough, remember what color beanie Taylor’s older sister Lauren was wearing when Taylor walked her through the kitchen on a mini house tour, and Lauren just looked up from her phone for a brief moment with a smile. It was green. The beanie was green. And she thinks it’s so easy to remember because the green beanie was the same color as Lauren’s emerald eyes. And Camila could never forget a pair of eyes so breathtakingly beautiful.

Its past 2AM and the credits to whatever gory movie Dinah chose to traumatize her best friends with are playing in the background. Dinah is sprawled out across the couch, snoring loudly and Camila smirks because she is so going to use that against her later. Taylor is curled up in her dad’s old comfy chair, sleeping peacefully, and Camila is huddling in a blanket fort on the futon. Her bladder feels like it is about to explode, so she throws the blankets off of her body and tiptoes up the stairs to find the bathroom. She opens the door to the basement and it creaks lightly, and even though Camila’s been in the Jauregui house a thousand times before, the trees rattling against the side of the house and the lightening flashing outside the window make her feel uneasy. She walks through the kitchen and into the living room to reach the bathroom that’s just at the beginning of the hallway. A few moments later she closes the bathroom door quietly and is ready to head back downstairs when she hears a soft whimpering coming from the couch in the living room. Camila can’t really ignore the sound, so she cautiously walks around the couch to see just who is crying in the dark living room at 2 in the morning.

Camila stares down at Lauren with wide eyes, because the older girl looks so small curled up in the corner of the sectional with tears streaming down her face. Lauren hasn’t seen Camila yet, and Camila thinks maybe she should just scurry back downstairs before she does. But then it’s all too late because Lauren does look up with tears in her eyes and a soft gasp escaping her lips.

“Camila?” Lauren rasps out into the darkness.

Camila has her hands clasped in front of her, looking very uncomfortable with the situation. “S-sorry,” Camila stutters out because she feels like she’s intruding on a personal moment, and she really doesn’t know Lauren that well aside from the friendly passing hellos they offer each other when Taylor has her over. “I heard you crying and I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” She finishes, her voice incredibly small. Lauren has always kind of intimidated her. The older girl has never been mean to her, but the way she walks with an air of confidence, maturity, and experience always throws Camila off. It’s hard to approach someone who is at a much different stage in their life despite only being a few years older. Lauren is going to be a senior while Camila is only just entering high school. Camila is sure that Lauren has been to parties and has indulged in alcohol and smoked weed because she remembers this one time when Lauren passed her in the hallway and she smelled like a disgusting combination of both. But right now, as Camila takes a tentative seat next to the girl on the couch, she smells like a wonderful combination of vanilla body lotion and strawberry shampoo.

Lauren is kind of just sitting there staring at her with tears leaking out of puffy eyes, and Camila realizes that Lauren still hasn’t said anything. So she licks her lips to get rid of the dryness and tries to speak again a little louder this time. “Are you okay?”

Lauren wipes a few tears away and laughs softly and sadly. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

Camila observes the girl carefully, taking in her slumped shoulders and the way her lips curve downward despite the raven-haired girl’s best efforts to fake a smile. She wonders how hard it must be to pretend everything is fine when it so obviously isn’t, but Camila chooses not to argue about that right now.

She doesn’t think she’s very good at giving advice, but she tries anyway because Lauren looks so sad and Camila just wants to make her feel better. So she delves into her memory for a decent quote or something she read on tumblr, because tumblr seems to be pretty wise. But she can’t come up with anything worthy of this beautiful broken girl, so she just speaks what comes to mind. Camila reaches out hesitantly. She doesn’t want to startle Lauren. Her finger tips brush lightly against Lauren’s hand before she takes a chance and interlocks their fingers. Lauren looks at her curiously but doesn’t pull away and Camila’s heart is hammering in her chest and she doesn’t know why. 

“Lauren,” She starts, “I don’t know why you’re upset or who upset you, but I do know that whoever hurt you has no idea who they’re dealing with,” Camila says with so much sincerity. She hopes Lauren knows how much she really means it, especially her next words. “You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met, and I think maybe the kindest too. Every time Taylor brings Dinah and I by you always smile at us even though we’re just your little sister’s goofy friends. And Taylor tells us things about you sometimes, like how you help her with her math homework or how you beat up that guy that broke your friend Ally’s heart. And I don’t know if violence is the best answer, but I do know that hearing about how great of a friend and sister you are makes me want to beat up whoever hurt you. But I know I wouldn’t even have to do that because like I said, you’re strong and would probably do it yourself. So yeah, I know you’re going to get past this because whoever they are, they don’t deserve you anyway,” Camila finishes, looking up at Lauren to see her reaction.

Lauren is staring. Camila notices that she’s done that a lot over the last ten minutes or so since she sat down. Her eyes are finally dry and her last tears have fallen. She looks surprised, and Camila hopes its not in a bad way. Maybe she thinks what Camila said was totally lame and stupid. The younger girl suddenly feels embarrassed and wonders if she should leave. But then Lauren is reaching forward and pulling Camila into a hug and whispering thank you into her ear and the butterflies in her stomach are confusing and exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time. After a moment Lauren pulls away and smiles, a real one this time even though Camila knows she is still sad.

“You know, Camila, you’re pretty wise for a 14-year-old,” Lauren says, nudging Camila on the shoulder. “Have you had your heart broken before?”

Camila just shakes her head.

Lauren smiles again and it’s seriously not good for Camila’s rapidly increasing pulse. “I hope you never do.”

Camila hopes so too. But sitting there next to Lauren Jauregui at 2 in the morning in the middle of a dark living room has her thinking that maybe she _will_ get her heart broken, and she thinks she already knows who the offender will be.

But yeah, Camila is 14 and its confusing as fuck.

* * *

It’s a whole summer later and two weeks into her freshman year when she realizes that she might kind of have a crush on Lauren. Camila’s sitting at the island in the Jauregui kitchen, squinting down at a particularly difficult math problem when Lauren walks into the kitchen wearing a pair of high-waisted shorts and an old The 1975 t-shirt. Her black curls are falling down her back as she reaches up to grab a box of cheerios out of the cabinet and Camila finds herself admiring her ass. She thanks the heavens that Dinah and Taylor already finished their homework 15 minutes ago and went to the living room to watch TV because she would be getting a lot of questioning looks right now. The younger girl quickly turns back to her math homework when Lauren whips around with a bowl and a carton of milk. She hears the sound of cereal falling into the bowl and startles when Lauren plops down in the seat right next to her. The familiar scent of vanilla and strawberry invades Camila’s senses and she has to work to keep her breathing even. And she does a really good job. Seriously. She does. Until of course Lauren is leaning over her shoulder and peering down at her math worksheet.

“Whatcha got there?” Lauren says so close to Camila’s ear that she almost shivers.

“Just some stupid math worksheet,” Camila manages to get out.

“Need any help?” Camila’s rational mind is telling her that this is not a good idea. There’s no way having Lauren this close is any good for her. Like, at all.

 _Say no. Say no!_ “Yes.” She blurts out. “I mean, sure, if you don’t mind.” Camila wishes her heart didn’t know how to override her mind because Lauren is now reaching over her to point down at the paper, her front pressing lightly into Camila’s back.

“Ok,” Lauren begins, “I think the best way to approach a problem like this is…”

And that sentence is really where it all begins.

Because Lauren helping Camila with her homework in the Jauregui kitchen kind of becomes their thing after that.

At least once a week Taylor and Dinah will rush through their homework so they can go gossip upstairs, and Camila will purposely lag behind and wait for Lauren to come trudging into the kitchen for a bowl of Cheerios. Camila normally has her face buried in a textbook and Lauren will slip in next to her and ask what they have to do that day. And her heart will always beat way too fast and she’ll have to give herself a mental pep talk before informing Lauren of what homework she needs tutoring on.

They spend a lot of days like that, just sitting at the kitchen island discussing Pythagorean theorems and finding the measures of angles inside isosceles triangles. But as time goes on they start to spend a lot of time doing other things too. Camila finds herself laughing with Lauren about stupid posts on tumblr, because as it turns out Lauren loves tumblr too, and Lauren shows her the 1975 while Camila plays her her favorite Ed Sheeran songs. The green eyed girl laughs at all of her incredibly lame jokes, too. Camila thinks that maybe somewhere along the way they kind of become friends.

Camila also thinks that she isn’t obvious about her feelings, but then one night she kind of starts to think she is.

* * *

Camila is 15 when she first thinks about kissing a girl.

They’re at the kitchen island again and Lauren is throwing cheerios at the side of Camila’s head and Camila is trying to ignore the older girl so she can finish her stupid math homework. A piece of the donut-shaped cereal lands down Camila’s shirt and she briefly wonders if her tutor is even helpful at this point. But then Camila remembers that she really doesn’t care what Lauren does as long as she gets to spend time with the raven-haired girl. But she glares at Lauren anyways because still.

“Don’t you have friends or someone to throw your cheerios at?” Camila asks, half annoyed, half joking.

“Aww, come on Camzi,” Lauren coos at her. “I was just trying to see if you wanted to take a break.”

“A break?” Camila asks her dumbly.

“Yeah, you know. That thing that people do when they get bored of staring down at a piece of paper for over an hour,” Lauren says and nods at the clock.

Holy shit. It really has been an hour. “Don’t you have homework to do?” Camila tries weakly.

Lauren shakes her head. “I finished mine as soon as I got home. Now come on,” The green eyed girl orders and drags a protesting Camila through the kitchen and out the back door.

Camila pretends that having Lauren’s hand wrapped around hers isn’t giving her heart palpitations.

Camila stares at the empty backyard. “What exactly did you want to do out here?”

Lauren laughs. “We’re not staying out here. We’re going over there,” She points at the wooded area that begins right at the end of the property line.

“The woods? You’re taking me into the woods? Is this a murder plot? Are you going to murder me Lauren Jauregui?” Camila asks with as much seriousness as she can gather.

Lauren shrugs. “I hadn’t thought of it until now. But now that you mention it…”

“Lauren!” Camila laughs and pushes the older girl along.

Lauren grabs Camila’s hand again and guides her through the wooded path that becomes less and less clear as they move along.

“So where are we headed exactly?” Camila asks after a few minutes.

“This place I found a while back,” Lauren informs her. “No one really knows about it. Not even Chris or Taylor. It’s kind of where I go to think about things.”

“It must be nice,” Camila says. “To have somewhere to escape to.”

Lauren nods. “It is. I don’t know how many times I’ve come out here trying to get over a broken heart,” She laughs, reminiscing on the past.

“Is that why you were crying that one night?” Camila asks because she can’t help herself.

She thinks Lauren might deny it or pretend to forget the night that Camila found her on the couch and is surprised when Lauren doesn’t do either.

“Yeah. His name is Luis. We uh, broke up because my best friend caught him Cheating on me with someone I thought was a friend,” Lauren shakes her head in disbelief and glares at an innocent rock lying on the ground. “He was the first person I’ve ever felt anything close to love for.”

Camila grows angry just hearing about how someone as genuine and kind as Lauren could ever be treated so badly. “He sounds like an asshole to me,” Camila grumbles.

Lauren laughs at Camila’s colorful language. “Yeah, he is.”

Camila looks down at their joined hands and she can feel her cheeks turning bright red. She turns away from Lauren and stares down at the ground, pulling her hand out of Lauren’s and pretending to pick up an interesting looking rock that is probably the most ordinary piece of the earth she’s ever come across.

Lauren eyes her curiously but keeps walking until they reach an opening in the trees. A small creek lined with large rocks cuts through the trees and bubbles quietly in the background.

“Wow,” Camila breathes out. “This is amazing.”

Lauren looks pleased with Camila’s reaction and plops down on a rock, slipping off her flip flops and letting her feet splash in the water. “Come sit.” She says, patting the spot next to her.

Camila scurries over and sits next to Lauren with a safe distance between them. It’s super cheesy and there are birds singing in the trees and possibly even a rabbit or two hopping around somewhere but Camila doesn’t care because the sun is hitting Lauren’s eyes and she thinks she sees galaxies inside them.

And right then and there she wonders how badly she would mess things up if she leaned in and kissed her.

She doesn’t, of course, but the thought is there and after that it kind of never goes away.

Long story short, Camila is 15 and she wishes she was 18 because then maybe Lauren would want to kiss her too.


	2. Freshman Year Part 2

Freshman year is winding down and Camila has her two best friends by her side, an excellent grade in math, and a gigantic crush on her best friend’s sister who likes to throw cheerios at her head and take her for hikes through random forests. It’s almost May and she bursts into the Jauregui household with a slip of paper in her hand and excitement plastered all over her face. It’s a Tuesday and Taylor doesn’t usually have the girls over but it doesn’t really matter because Camila has taken to coming and going whenever she pleases. The Jauregui’s are like a second family to her at this point.

She waves to Chris when he calls out a hello from his room, and walks into the living room looking for Taylor but comes up empty. She hears giggling coming from the kitchen and figures she’ll find her best friend in there. She walks in ready to tell Taylor and maybe even Clara if she’s there all about how her mom took her to get her driver’s permit today.

But it’s not Taylor or Clara or even Mike in the kitchen. It’s Lauren and some boy who’s got his hands around her waist and is kissing the green eyed girl rather heatedly. And suddenly her world tilts on its axis because Lauren has a boyfriend and Camila is pathetic and everything just sucks right now. Jealousy ignites within her and she hates herself for it because she has no right to be jealous of the boy who looks like he walked right out of one of the pictures on Lauren’s tumblr.

Maybe she met him on there.

She clears her throat loudly and Lauren breaks apart from the boy abruptly.

“Oh, hey, Camz,” Lauren says, looking a little flustered, and Camila doesn’t even get butterflies upon hearing Lauren’s cute nickname for her like she usually does. Now it just makes her feel like…a child.

Camila just stands there awkwardly so Lauren tugs on the brown haired boy’s hand and introduces him to Camila. “Camila, this is Brad. My boyfriend.”

“Nice to meet you, Camilla,” Brad says, pronouncing her name wrong. Lauren smiles apologetically.

Brad shakes her hand and she returns the gesture lazily.

“Camila is one of Taylor’s friends. She’s actually probably the coolest out of them all,” Lauren informs Brad and winks at Camila. Camila’s stomach does flips for a second but then Lauren is ruffling up her hair like she’s five and is heading out the door. “See you later, Camila.”

She’s left standing alone in the kitchen with a now crumpled up piece of paper in her hand, feeling like a two-year-old and learning what it’s like to have a hole in her heart.

* * *

Camila starts finishing her homework really fast after that. Like faster than Taylor and Dinah combined. Her friends ask her why she suddenly wants to gossip with them when she hates that kind of stuff. Camila just shrugs and recites a quote about life being too short and spending time with friends.

And sure, her grade drops from an A to a B by the end of the year but at least Camila doesn’t have to stare at Lauren’s lips and think about how she’ll never be the one that gets to kiss them.

(Camila never sees it, but Lauren still comes down to the kitchen every night and frowns when Camila isn’t there.)

* * *

It’s the last week of school and Camila is leaning up against her locker watching Lauren kiss Brad from across the hall. She doesn’t realize how obvious her staring is until Dinah comes up next to her and gives her a knowing look.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Is all Camila says before she slams her locker shut and storms off.

But they do end up talking about it because a week later Lauren graduates and Camila realizes that she’s got one summer left with the green eyed girl before she goes off to college. And it’s not like she wants Dinah to know all about her pathetic crush on Taylor’s older sister, but it’s kind of hard to explain away the tears she’s crying when Dinah comes barging into her room on a Saturday night.

So Dinah hugs her and wipes away her tears and Camila tells her everything. She tells her about the way Lauren’s eyes change colors sometimes, and how she smells like a smoothie and used to let Camila borrow her sweatshirt when it got too cold in the kitchen.

“So that’s why you spent so much time in there with Lauren!” Dinah says after Camila explains her situation in mortifying detail. “Hah! I knew you weren’t really a math geek!” Dinah says, punching her on the arm.

Camila rubs her arm and groans, falling back onto the bed.

They stay up late watching re-runs of friends despite Dinah’s complaining. But Dinah caves because her best friend is sad and she figures she can make a sacrifice. The Polynesian girl promises not to tell Taylor for obvious reasons and it’s the first time they have a secret that Taylor doesn’t know about. It’s kind of nice having someone to talk to about her pathetic crush even though Dinah pokes fun at her sometimes.

* * *

The summer goes by far too quickly and Camila never really finds ways to spend time with Lauren because Lauren is so busy with her friends and her boyfriend that she isn’t really around all that much. It’s not like Lauren should be making time for her anyway.

When the last week of the summer rolls around Camila feels like someone dropped a 50-pound weight on her heart and left it there indefinitely.

The Jauregui's host a going away party the day before Lauren leaves for college and Clara cries and Chris jokes about all the action Lauren’s going to get in college. Taylor laughs along with her sister when Mike looks completely uneasy at the thought of his Daughter getting “Action,” as Chris put it. Lauren’s friends Ally and Normani and a few other girls gather around and talk and laugh and cry because it’s the last time they’re all going to be together for a while.

Camila wonders what it feels like. Starting over in the real world. It’s a reality that she doesn’t have to worry about for quite a while, serving as another reminder that she and Lauren are at very different stages in their lives.

Oh yeah. Brad comes too.

Camila looks in the other direction whenever Lauren and Brad interact. But she does find a small victory when she gives Lauren a The 1975 t-shirt as a graduation present because she noticed that her old one was getting kind of ratty. Lauren hugs her and smiles at her when she opens it and it makes Camila feel like luckiest girl in the world to see Lauren smiling because of her.

* * *

Dinah leaves early and Taylor falls asleep on the couch, so Camila offers to finish cleaning up the kitchen while Clara sees her guests out.

That’s where Lauren finds her.

“Camz, hey,” Lauren smiles when she walks through the doorway and finds Camila standing there. Camila thinks she looks breathtaking in her blue sundress with her black hair falling down her shoulders.

“Hey,” The younger girl smiles weakly because she knows this is going to be goodbye.

Lauren opens her mouth as if she’s going to say something but instead she just crosses the room and pulls Camila into the tightest hug. Camila buries her face into Lauren’s neck because what the hell this is the last time she’s going to see her in months and right now she doesn’t care about anything besides having Lauren close to her.

“Is it bad that I think I’m going to miss you more than my own sister?” Lauren mumbles against her head.

Camila chuckles. “Don’t let Tay hear you say that.”

Lauren pulls away after some period of time. Camila really doesn’t know how long they stand there because she kind of loses track of time when Lauren is near.

“Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m gone, okay?” Lauren teases lightly.

“Me? Get into trouble?” Camila gasps.  “Who do I look like to you? Chris?”

Lauren laughs and it’s so pure and genuine that it makes Camila stop and admire her without a care.

“What?” Lauren asks with a curious smile when she notices Camila staring at her.

And for a moment Camila decides to say exactly what is on her mind. “You’re really beautiful, Lauren.”

Camila thinks she sees Lauren falter, with a light blush tinting her cheeks. But Lauren covers it up so quickly that she might have just imagined it.

“So are you,” Lauren admits sincerely. It’s such a real moment and Camila wants to cry because god dammit how is she supposed to make it without this girl?

“You remember how we used to do your math homework together in the kitchen?” Lauren asks her after a second.

As if Camila could forget the best 8 months of her life. “You mean when you would throw cereal at my head and distract me from my valuable education?” Camila counters with a smirk.

“Hey! I helped you ace that class!” Lauren whines and shoves Camila playfully.

“Pfft. Sure,” Camila waves her off, but her smile tells a different truth.

Lauren frowns. “Come on, Camila. Admit it. I’m the best math tutor there is.”

Camila crosses her arms and shakes her head. “Nope. Not going to happen.”

Lauren steps towards Camila while trying to look menacing. “Say it, Camz.”

“I refuse.”

“Okay, you asked for it,” Lauren tells her ominously. She pauses for a second before she lunges at Camila and begins tickling her and eliciting loud laughter from the younger girl.

“Lauren, stop it!”

“Not until you say it!”

“Never!”

“Say it!”

“Okay, fine!” Camila relents, completely out of breath from laughing so hard. “You’re the best math tutor on the face of the earth. Are you happy, now?”

Lauren laughs. “Yes, extremely.”

As their laughter dies down Camila realizes for the first time the position they are in. Lauren is standing behind her with her hands placed securely around Camila’s hips, and her breath is hitting the brown eyed girl’s neck. Camila spins around in Lauren’s arms but realizes that she is no better off facing her. Their faces are only a few inches apart now.

Lauren doesn’t seem to mind though. In fact, she’s smiling brightly down at her. Camila blushes and smiles back, and god, she hopes Lauren can’t tell how flustered she is right now. Lauren’s eyes drop to Camila’s lips and Camila can’t believe it but Lauren actually looks like she wants to kiss her. Camila licks her lips, waiting. Waiting for Lauren to lean in or waiting for Lauren to pull away and realize that she doesn’t want Camila like that.

Lauren reaches up and brushes the back of her hand against Camila’s hot cheek, pushing her hair back behind her ear.

Camila closes her eyes.

“Camila! Sinu is here to pick you up!” She hears Clara shout from the living room.

Instantly Lauren takes a giant step back, seemingly arriving back to reality. Camila opens her eyes and frowns. Lauren is no longer smiling, instead, she looks extremely conflicted and confused.

Camila shuffles awkwardly on her feet. “Well, I’ll see you in November then?”

Lauren regains her smile, though Camila notices that it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yeah. See you in November.”

Lauren hugs her one last time and wears an unreadable expression once they pull away.

Camila thinks she might want to say something else, but in the end, she doesn’t. So Camila turns on her heels and walks out of the kitchen without looking back.

When she gets into the car tears are streaming down her face. Her mom asks her what’s wrong she lies and blames her emotional state on a sad movie Taylor made her watch. Sinu raises an eyebrow at her but doesn’t push the issue. Camila loves her mom a lot in that moment.

When she gets home she collapses face first onto her pillow and wonders why nobody ever warned her how badly it hurts to let someone go.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading and giving me some Kudos guys! I really appreciate it! This story is really fun to write, let me know if you're planning on riding this out to the end with me! :)


	3. Sophomore Year

Camila starts her Sophomore year and it turns out that moving up a rung on the high school ladder changes a lot of things. Taylor makes the varsity soccer team in the fall, and through association she scores Camila and Dinah passes into a lot of parties. Camila tries beer for the first time and spits half of it onto Dinah’s shirt and the other half onto some guy’s sneakers. Dinah busts out laughing and Camila decides that she really doesn’t like beer all that much. Taylor looks momentarily embarrassed by her friends but eventually laughs because they are Dinah and Camila and she shouldn’t have expected any less. After the beer fiasco, Taylor grabs Camila a fruity drink that she actually enjoys, and the three of them dance and sing to whatever song comes blasting through the speakers.

Side note: Dinah totally gets crowned beer pong champion that night.

* * *

 

School is a lot more challenging than it was the year before, and Camila actually gets Dinah and Taylor to study with her in Taylor’s kitchen at least twice a week. Chris, who’s a senior now, sometimes joins them too, but only because Clara makes the best snacks for them and he isn’t about to miss out on an opportunity for food.

Camila, Taylor and Dinah are sitting in the kitchen laughing about something their chemistry teacher said in class that day when Taylor’s phone goes off.

Taylor smiles as she reaches for her phone. “Hang on just a minute guys, Lauren is calling.”

She swipes right on the screen and accepts the call. “Hey, Laur! How’s college life going?”

Camila’s head snaps in Taylor’s direction and Dinah makes kissy faces at Camila when Taylor isn’t looking. After a moment Taylor excuses herself to finish the phone call.

As soon as she leaves, Dinah swoops in for an interrogation. “I thought you said you were over the Forbidden Jauregui?”

“I was. I mean-I am," Camila stutters. "And I thought I told you to stop calling her that?”

“Your reaction just now says otherwise.”

“Okay, fine," Camila sighs and puts her head in her hands. "Maybe I do still have a bit of a crush on her. So what? It’s not like it would ever work out. I mean, first of all, she would have to like me back.  Which is never going to happen. So, there you have it. End of story.”

“What makes you think that Lauren couldn’t like you back?" Dinah asks. "I mean, how can you be so sure?”

“Oh trust me, I’m sure," Camila tells her definitively. "She’s Lauren freaking Jauregui. She’s intelligent and beautiful and caring, and I’m just…me.”

“What if I told you that I have…evidence…to the contrary?” Dinah says carefully.

Camila whips her head up to look at Dinah. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“Dinah-Jane Hansen you better tell me what you’re talking about right this instant, or I will…do something!” Camila threatens, hitting her fist against the counter.

Dinah holds her hands up in defense. “Alright, alright. Don’t go passing out on me, Walz. Deep breaths.”

“Dinah!”

“Okay, so I may have proof that Lauren is a lot more interested in you than you think,” Dinah reveals.

“Go on, don’t be shy Dinah,” Camila says sarcastically. She needs Dinah to spit it out already. “Now is not the time.”

“Well, it's just, I’ve overheard Taylor talking to Lauren on the phone a few times, and It sounds like they talk about you a lot,” Dinah begins.

Camila frowns in confusion but then her face shows recognition. “Dinah, have you been eavesdropping again?”

“That is beside the point,” Dinah says, waving her off. “Yesterday, Taylor had Lauren on speaker. Guess what Lauren asked?” Dinah whispers, as if it’s some big important secret that she’s about to spill.

“What?” Camila leans in, intrigued.

“She asked if you were seeing anyone.”

“She did?” It's a complete surprise and Camila's face shows it.

“MmHmm.”

“Well…” Camila starts to defend. “She could have just been asking because I’m Taylor’s friend. I mean, she probably asks about you too.”

“Pfft. I haven’t heard my name once,” Dinah waves her off.

Camila sighs, rubbing her temple. “Okay, even if Lauren was asking about me because she actually wanted to know, and that’s a very hypothetical ‘if’, isn’t she still dating Brad?”

Dinah makes a disgusted face. “Oh hell no, they broke up like a week after Lauren left for college. You would know that if you weren’t so afraid to ask Taylor about her,” She says, looking at Camila pointedly. “Lucky for you, I’m an awesome best friend and have been asking about her for you. In a subtle way of course.”

Camila’s eyes widen. “You have?”

“Well, yeah. Even though you to lie to me and say that you’re over her, it has only been like two months since she left. You were in pretty deep before that. And don’t pretend that she wasn’t feeling it too. Need I mention that almost kiss in the kitchen?”

Camila looks doubtful. “I probably read the situation completely wrong. Maybe I had something on my face and she was leaning in to brush it off.”

"Walz, with an attitude like that you’re never going to get the girl.”

Camila rolls her eyes. “I’m going to choose to ignore your analysis of my pathetic love life.”

Dinah makes a face at her.

“However,” Camila’s says, her demeanor softening, “I do need to thank you.”

“Thank me?” Dinah asks confused.

“Yeah, you’ve been trying to help me out with this Lauren thing. Even though your methods have been borderline unethical and inappropriate. But still, thanks D-Mac. You’re the best,” Camila smiles and pulls Dinah in for a hug.

“I know I am,” Dinah says proudly.

“You're so humble,” Camila responds sarcastically, letting Dinah go.

“You know,” Dinah says, ignoring her previous comment, “Taylor also mentioned that Lauren was a little bit homesick. You should text her and cheer her up.”

Camila raises an eyebrow at her friend. “I don’t even have her number, Dinah-Jane.”

“I know, that’s why I got it for you.”

“You-what?”

Dinah just smirks and pulls out her phone. She opens her contacts and scrolls down until she finds the number she Is looking for. “See, look.” Dinah holds the phone up to Camila’s face.

Camila squints at it. “1/2 of Camren…” Camila reads off. “What the heck is a Camren?”

Dinah almost looks offended. “It’s my ship name for you and Lauren. As captain, I figured I needed to give you guys an official name.”

“And you picked….” Camila narrows her eyes at the phone again. “Camren?”

“Cameron who?” Taylor asks, suddenly appearing back into the kitchen.

Camila nearly jumps out of her seat. “Uhh…just some boy that Dinah has a crush on,” She lies, hoping that Taylor didn’t hear the rest of the conversation.

“What?” Dinah asks, not catching on right away.

Camila shoots her a look that says ‘play along or you die.’

Dinah instantly straightens up. “Ohhh…yeah. Cameron. Yeah, he’s a year older than us, has abs that were sculpted by the Greeks. You know, the usual.”

Taylor slaps Dinah on the arm. “DJ! Why didn’t you tell me! Do I know him?”

“Um, no. He’s new,” Dinah says quickly.

Taylor shrugs. “Oh, alright. Well you’ll have to point him out to me sometime.”

“Sure Tay,” Dinah says with a smile that looks more like a grimace to Camila.

Camila mouths a 'thank you’ to Dinah.

Dinah rolls her eyes but smiles to let Camila know she doesn't really mind. Camila is pretty damn thankful for Dinah at times like these.

* * *

 

“Just text her already!” Dinah says for the fiftieth time that night. Her and Camila are sitting on the Cuban girl’s bed. Dinah is watching Camila burn holes in her phone from how intensely she’s starting at it.

“I don’t know Dinah…I mean what if she doesn’t want to talk to me?” Camila looks up at her friend and frowns.  “She’s probably busy.”

“Mila, she wants to talk to you. I promise you,” Dinah assures her and pats her on the shoulder.

Camila still looks nervous and unsure. “I just don’t—“

“—Alright, that’s it. Give me that thing!” Dinah yells and snatches the phone from Camila’s hands. She types out a quick message and hits send before throwing the phone back onto Camila’s lap.

Camila’s eyes go wide with horror. “Dinah!”

“Relax, Chanch. There’s nothing to be worried about,” Dinah says, trying not to laugh at Camila’s nervousness. “Now, since my job here is done, I’m gonna head out and leave you to it.”

Camila watches Dinah exit her room and fights the urge to strangle her. She’s in the middle of planning ways to get away with murder when her phone goes off.

She thinks she wants to curl up in a ball and die. “Shit.”

The text is from Lauren. Or well…LaurenXOXO<3\. Ugh. She needs to change that. Stupid Dinah.

Camila realizes she doesn’t even know what Dinah sent her and hopes that it wasn’t something embarrassing or inappropriate.

 **(Camila-9:52PM):** Hi Lauren, it’s Camila

Camila sighs in relief.  Dinah isn’t a complete asshole after all. But then she reads Lauren’s message and her heart deflates.

 **(Lo-9:58 PM):** Camila who?

Camila is about to reply that she must have texted the wrong number when her phone goes off again.

 **(Lo-10:00PM):** I’m just kidding, Camz. Sorry if I scared you for a second there ;)

 **(Camila-10:01PM):** Haha. Very funny Lauren.

 **(Lo-10:04PM):** I know :) How are you btw? It's great to hear from you

 **(Camila-10:06PM):** Stressed out. Keeping Taylor and Dinah in check is a 24/7 task. I've been thinking about resigning

 **(Lauren-10:13PM):** I don't blame you. Tay says you guys get into a lot of trouble these days. :p

 **(Camila-10:14PM):** For the record, I'm the designated driver like 85% of the time when we go to parties. I'm starting to think I should make Dinah drive more often. I'm always the bored one in the corner.

 **(Lauren-10:17PM):** Maybe you just aren't going to the right kind of parties...

 **(Camila-10:18PM):** Oh? And what exactly is the right kind of party?

 **(Lauren-10:20PM):** When I come back home I'll take you to one.

Camila spends the rest of the night dancing around her room like a fool.

* * *

 

Once they start talking, they kind of never stop. Talking to Lauren comes easy. She's a great listener, she gives good advice, and she still cracks up at every single one of Camila's lame jokes. It reminds her of how things used to be before Lauren left.

Camila comes to two conclusions.

 

1\. Her and Lauren are definitely friends now.

2\. As great as conclusion number one sounds, it's not easy being friends with Lauren Jauregui when you have rapidly developing, soul-consuming feelings for her.

 

Which is why when Lauren calls her to tell her that her flight home for thanksgiving got cancelled, she has to try really hard to be okay.

"I'm sorry, Camila," Lauren's raspy voice apologizes through the phone.

"No, it's okay, Lo," She reassures her, even though her heart feels like someone stomped all over it. "You're the one that has to spend thanksgiving alone. I'm more worried about you."

Lauren sighs. "I know. I was just excited to see you."

Camila laughs. "If you think you were excited, you should've seen me the past couple of days."

"Really?" Lauren asks sincerely.

"Well, yeah," Camila informs her even though she figures it's fairly obvious.  "You're kind of my favorite person," She can hear Lauren's smile through the phone. She wishes she could see it.

"You're not so bad yourself, Camz," Lauren admits.

"I miss you," Camila tells her.

"I miss you too," Lauren replies and Camila knows she means it.

* * *

 

Lauren _does_ come home for her winter break and she calls Camila a day later. Camila's eyes bulge out when Lauren asks her if she wants to hang out. She says yes way too quickly and then changes her clothes three (five) times before asking her mom to borrow the car and driving to the Jauregui’s. She walks in and says hi to Clara, who tells her that Taylor isn’t home at the moment.

Camila realizes that this is the first time she isn’t here for Taylor. “Oh yeah, well actually--"

“--She’s here for me,” Lauren’s voice comes out of nowhere, and Camila’s breath catches in her throat because it has been four months since she’s last seen her and of course in that time she only became more beautiful. She thinks about telling her that but Clara is in the kitchen and this is already weird enough as it is. Lauren is smiling at Camila from across the room and Camila is trying not to die. In the midst of her trance she hears Clara clear her throat.

“Oh, well that’s a surprise!” Clara says, beginning to smile though obviously a little confused. “I didn’t know you two were friends?”

Lauren walks around the island and stands next to Camila, draping an arm around her shoulder. “Camila here texted me out of nowhere a couple months ago and we haven’t stopped talking since. I’d say we’ve become pretty good friends, wouldn’t you, Camz?”

Camila smiles at the nickname and leans in closer to Lauren unconsciously. She can’t help it. Lauren smells like vanilla and strawberries and she really missed it. “Right.”

Clara eyes them carefully. “Well Lauren, just don’t go around stealing all of your sister’s friends, alright?”

Lauren smirks. “It’s not stealing if they come willingly,” Her thumb is brushing back and forth against Camila’s shoulder and Camila doesn’t know if its intentional or not. She can never tell if what Lauren is doing is intentional or not.

Clara just shakes her head with a smile and exits the kitchen.

As soon as Clara leaves Camila throws caution to the wind and wraps her arms around Lauren’s neck, hugging her tight. Lauren laughs and lifts her up, spinning her around.

“I missed you," Lauren tells her at the same time Camila says "Thank god you're home."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is more of an in between chapter in preparation for chapter 4. Chapter 4 is going to be much longer and a lot of shit is going to happen hehe. I'm excited:) But anyways, I hope you like Chapter 3! Thank you guys so much for the almost 600 reads and thank you to anyone who left kudos or bookmarked this story so far! Also, shout out to those who commented you guys make me laugh:D


	4. Sophomore Year Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This picks up right where the last chapter left off!

Camila has never been in love, and she spends a lot of time wondering if she even understands it enough to be able to feel it.  

 

She thinks Lauren might be the one to change that though, and it scares her because her feelings are supposed to be going away, not growing stronger.      

 

Hugging Lauren in the kitchen reminds her of sitting with legs dangling over the creek in the woods and throwing cheerios around at 9 o'clock at night. 

 

Lauren paralyzes her with wonder. Her striking eyes, her shiny black hair, the way she laughs like a little kid.  

 

When Lauren stops spinning her around and the laughter dies down, Camila has to stop herself from staring. She buries her head in Lauren's shoulder and tightens her grip on the older girl's back.  

 

"I can't believe I'm finally home," Lauren sighs into her hair. 

 

"You got home yesterday," Camila points out teasingly, pulling away from the never ending embrace they seem to be in. 

 

"I know," Lauren says with a soft gaze.  "I think you being here just makes it feel more real," She admits, drawing circles on Camila's arm with her thumb.  

 

Camila wants to reach inside her chest and offer Lauren her heart right then and there. But in a practiced effort to appear less love struck around the green-eyed girl, she manages to hide the effect Lauren's words have on her. "You're so cheesy, Lo," She says, fake gagging. 

 

Lauren slaps Camila on the arm. "Don't pretend that you don't like it," She steps away from Camila and heads towards the stairs. "Would you mind following me for a second? There's something I want to show you." 

 

Camila practically squeaks when Lauren reaches for her hand and intertwines their fingers, but she follows her nonetheless. 

 

Lauren's room is kind of messy due to all the unpacking she did yesterday, but Camila still thinks that the space fits Lauren perfectly. There's a few band posters hung up on the walls, scribbled-in notebooks lying on the desk and on the bookshelf, and a guitar sitting in the corner.  

 

"Sorry about the mess," Lauren apologizes.  

 

Camila is too engrossed in Lauren's literature collection to respond. She runs her fingers across the top of the bookshelf, collecting dust along the tips of her fingers. The first book on the shelf reads 'To Kill A Mockingbird.' Camila squeals with excitement. "I love this book!" 

 

Lauren comes to stand behind her, close but not too close. Camila can smell a hint of vanilla and strawberry, and the familiarity of it makes her smile. 

 

"It's my favorite novel hands down." Lauren admits, walking in front of Camila and picking up the book. "Even though she wrote it years ago and in a different time-period, the relevance of the message never changes. You have to look deeper than the skin to find someone else's truth. The truth of who they are. It's what's in the mind that matters." Lauren says, poking Camila on the forehead. She trails her hand down to rest over the left side of Camila's chest. "The heart too." 

 

Camila gawks at Lauren, in awe of her beautiful mind. "Who gave you such a good way with words, Jauregui?" 

 

"No one really knows. I'm pretty sure I invented it myself," Lauren says and winks at Camila. 

 

Camila takes the book from Lauren's hand and sets it down. She turns her attention to the guitar in the corner. "You play?" 

 

Lauren claps her hands together excitedly. "That's actually what I wanted to show you!" 

 

Lauren picks up the guitar and sits down on her bed. Camila takes the spot next to her. 

 

"See the writing on the neck there?" Lauren asks, pointing to the scribbled handwriting along the neck of the guitar.  

 

Camila nods.  

 

"Guess whose signature that is?" Lauren asks. Her eyes are filled with excitement and she's failing at controlling her smile.  

 

Camila inspects the writing more closely, trailing her fingers over the messy scrawl. She shrugs. "I don't know…it kind of looks like…wait a second! No way. There's no way it is who I think it is. Impossible." 

 

"Oh it's possible!" Lauren assures her. 

 

"You have Matty Healey's autograph on this guitar!?" Camila yells, eyes going wide. 

 

Lauren laughs at Camila's reaction. "The 1975 played a show in New York a few weeks ago. I know a guy who knows a guy that was able to get us backstage passes," She explains. 

 

"How are you so calm about this? You met Matty fucking Healy!" Camila asks incredulously. 

 

Lauren watches Camila with amusement. "I've had a lot of time to digest it all. Trust me, I was freaking out." 

 

"I can't believe you waited until now to tell me, you butthead," Camila says, punching her on the shoulder. 

 

Lauren shrugs. "I wanted to surprise you, Camz," She flips the guitar around so the bottom of it is facing Camila. "Look closely. See that writing there?" 

 

Camila leans forward to see what Lauren is pointing at. She gasps when she sees it. Written in Matty's handwriting are the words " _For Camila_." 

 

She glances up at Lauren. "The guitar is for you," Lauren tells her. 

 

Camila stares back at her in disbelief. "Lauren, I-" 

 

Lauren puts her hand on top of Camila's where it rests on the bed, shaking her head. "It's yours. You always used to talk about how much you wanted to learn how to play." 

 

"I don't even know how to thank you," Camila says, completely stunned.

 

Lauren shrugs. "No thank-you is necessary." 

 

Lauren is smiling at her expectantly, so Camila grabs the guitar and throws the strap over her shoulder. She plucks a few strings and even attempts a few chords she knows from passing moments with her more musically inclined friends.  

 

"So, you thought about me during one of the greatest moments of your life, enough to think to ask him to dedicate this guitar to me?" Camila asks, raising an eyebrow and setting the guitar down next to the bed. 

 

"I think about you a lot," Lauren admits, staring intently at Camila. 

 

Camila blushes and fiddles with her hands in her lap. She feels like someone let a crate of butterflies loose inside her stomach. "Really?"  

 

Lauren is suddenly a lot closer, and she's reaching for Camila's hand and interlocking their fingers. "Yeah. It's crazy actually. How often you cross my mind." 

 

Camila's heart is beating so fast she thinks she might pass out before she can come up with a response. 

 

Turns out she doesn't have to.  

 

"DINAH JANE IS IN THE BUILDING!"  

 

"What the…" Camila turns her head towards the sound and watches as the doorknob twists. 

 

"…Hell," Lauren finishes just as Dinah comes bursting through her doorway.  

 

"Hey guys!" Dinah exclaims, standing in front of the two girls who slowly let their hands fall to their sides. 

 

"DJ, what are you doing in here?" Camila asks, trying to hide her annoyance at her friend's untimely interruption.  

 

"Mama Jauregui told me that you guys were hanging out in Lauren's room, so I figured I'd come up and join you guys. Although, I didn't realize that Taylor wasn't with you. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She asks, wiggling her eyebrows wildly in the most obvious way possible. 

 

Camila's cheeks turn red and she glares at Dinah, hoping she'll get the message and leave the premises.  

 

Like, now.  

 

Lauren clears her throat. 

 

Thankfully, Dinah gets the message loud and clear. "Alrighty, well I actually just remembered that I have to pick Seth up from kindergarten. So, peace out ladies!" Dinah blurts out and exits the room.  

 

A moment later Camila hears Lauren laughing softly to herself. "What?" Camila asks. 

 

Lauren giggles. "It's 9 o'clock at night. On a Saturday." 

 

Camila's eyes widen slightly at the realization, and soon she's laughing too. Her best friend is one of a very special kind. 

 

"Wanna go downstairs and watch a movie?" Lauren asks when their laughter dies down. 

 

"Of course," Camila responds right away even though she wishes they could stay right here and continue the conversation they were having before Dinah barged in. She makes a mental note to kill her best friend later. 

 

Moments later, they are sitting on the couch in the living room watching the Notebook. Even though she is dying to know where Lauren was going with their conversation upstairs, Camila feels pretty content. She has her fuzzy sock covered feet perched on top of the coffee table and a blanket around her shoulders with Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams gracing the screen in front of her. Lauren even offers to go make popcorn.  

 

The raven-haired girl comes back balancing a bowl and two sodas, and Camila laughs at her when she almost trips on her way to the couch.  

 

"I could've helped you, you know," Camila points out.  

 

"Nonsense," Lauren waves her off with a smirk. "I have things under control." 

 

Camila scoffs. "Clearly. Seeing as you almost sacrificed a perfectly good batch of popcorn to the floor." 

 

Lauren rolls her eyes and deposits the items in front of them and settles back against the couch. Camila is halfway to shoving a handful of popcorn in her mouth when Lauren extends her arm to rest on Camila's shoulder, pulling her into her side. Camila completely misses her mouth and ends up spilling popcorn down her shirt, and Lauren just raises an eyebrow when she hears Camila's little squeak.  

   
She spends the rest of the movie huddled against Lauren trying not to drown in her scent or pass out from their proximity or kiss the spot between Lauren's neck and shoulder that her sweatshirt isn't covering. 

 

Camila leaves the Jauregui's knowing something has changed.  

 

She calls Dinah as soon as she gets into her car. 

 

When her best friend answers with a voice hoarse from sleep, Camila simply says "I'm coming over" and hangs up the phone. 

 

* * *

 

"It's 12am, Mila! Couldn't this have waited until tomorrow?" A groggy, pajama clad Dinah asks Camila when she barges into the Tongan girl's room and flips on the lights. 

 

"No, absolutely not. In fact, we probably wouldn't even be here right now if you hadn't interrupted mine and Lauren's conversation!" Camila points out, crossing her arms over her chest. 

 

"Oh come on, Walz, I'm sorry okay?" Dinah whines, covering herself with her blue blanket. "I just wanted to see if you and Jauregui had finally gotten over yourselves and admitted to having feelings for each other," She mumbles from under her blanket tent. 

 

"Well, now the world will never know, Dinah Jane," Camila says sternly.  

 

Camila can't see her face, but she's knows for a fact that Dinah is rolling her eyes. "Just tell me what she was saying before I walked in." 

 

Camila sits down on the bed next to Dinah, who looks like a big blue blob. "She was close, DJ. Like, really close. She was holding my hand, too. She told me that she thinks about me a lot." 

 

Dinah rips the blanket off  her head and wears a shocked expression on her face. "Holy shit!" 

 

"I know, I know. Even I'm starting to believe this thing isn't just pathetically one sided anymore," Camila says with hopeful eyes that soon become insecure. "It's just...she never brought it up again. We just went downstairs and watched a movie." 

 

"It official!" Dinah exclaims, ignoring Camila's uncertainty. "My ship is sailing!" 

 

Camila shakes her head. "I don’t think so, DJ. What if she changed her mind already and doesn't want me like that? Maybe she still sees me as her little sister's dorky friend," She expresses with a frown. 

 

Dinah looks determined. "If that's the case, I know just what you need to do."  

 

 The devious look in Dinah's eyes scares Camila, but she dares to ask her friend anyway. "What exactly do you think I need to do?" 

 

"You need to show Lauren that you're not that same sweet, doe-eyed girl that she said goodbye to four months ago," The Tongan girl tells her. 

 

Camila frowns. "Okay...and how the hell am I supposed to do that?" 

 

"That's easy," Dinah smirks.  "You're going to seduce Lauren." 

 

* * *

"Why the hell am I wearing this again?" Camila asks Dinah as they step out of Camila's car and head up the Jauregui's driveway. She's wearing a tight crop top and a short black skirt that Dinah resurrected from the back of her closet.  

 

Dinah looks her up and down. "Because Walz, you look god damn in this outfit right now, and if it doesn't make Lauren stop in her tracks then I should've just had you come here naked." 

 

Camila rolls her eyes and tries to pull her skirt down a bit. "Okay, I get it. I'm just lucky that we're in Miami right now and not New York or something. I would be freezing my ass off." 

 

Dinah nods her head. "Well, when you go to visit Lauren in New York sometime we'll make sure you look hot then too. Even if you have to wear an Eskimo suit." 

 

Camila comes to a stop in front of the door and rings the doorbell. Dinah eyes her curiously. "We always walk right in." 

 

Camila grimaces. "Damn it. I'm just really nervous right now." 

 

A few seconds later Chris opens the door. "Hey Dinah. Hey...Camila? Holy shit, you look--" 

 

"--Hey guys!" Taylor says, coming up behind Chris and swatting him away. "Come on in." 

 

Twenty minutes later the three best friends are situated in the kitchen playing a board game, and Taylor is accusing Dinah of cheating while Camila just sits there laughing at the two. Just as Camila had assumed, it doesn't take long for Lauren to make her way downstairs to investigate the commotion. 

 

Camila is in the middle of her turn when Lauren steps foot into the kitchen. She smiles warmly at them, but definitely smiles at Camila for a lot longer. Lauren is rummaging through the fridge when Dinah kicks her under the table and gives her a look. Camila sighs and scrambles up when Dinah kicks her again. The younger girl gives her a thumbs up and Camila just glares. 

 

"Hey, Lo," Camila smiles happily when she reaches the spot next to Lauren. 

 

Lauren turns to her with a matching smile that disappears when her jaw drops to the floor. Her eyes trail shamelessly up and down Camila's body and Camila bites back a smirk. 

 

"Woah," Lauren breathes out. 

 

Camila bites her lip. "Could you grab me a water bottle please?" 

 

"Huh?" Lauren asks, having not heard her. 

 

Camila laughs and raises an eyebrow. "I asked if you could grab me a water?" 

 

"Oh, Sure," Lauren says, attempting to recover from her gawking. She grabs a bottle and hands it to Camila. The brown eyed girl makes sure to purposely let her hand linger against Lauren's.  

 

"Thanks," Camila says with a wink. 

 

Lauren nods dumbly. 

 

"Laur, close the fridge! You're letting all the cold air out," Taylor tells her. 

 

Lauren jumps a bit and breaks her gaze which was definitely trained on Camila's ass.  

 

"Do you want to play with me, Lauren?" Camila asks just as Lauren is about to slip out of the kitchen. 

 

Lauren has a spoonful of pudding in her mouth and she spits it right back into the cup. "W-what?" 

 

"Do you want to play a board game?" Camila repeats, smiling sweetly. "We're already in the middle of the game but you can help me if you want?" 

 

Lauren wipes her mouth off with her sleeve, a blush tainting her cheeks. "I actually have to go...do something! Sorry!" She rambles and flies out of the room. 

 

"Jeez, what's up with her?" Taylor asks once her sister is upstairs. 

 

Dinah shrugs. "I don’t know, but something definitely has her on edge today," Camila doesn't miss the wink Dinah slyly shoots her way. 

 

"Ehh, she's weird," Taylor shrugs it off. 

 

Camila loses monopoly. It’s the first time she's ever lost the game, and okay, maybe she should have been paying more attention because Dinah totally stole half her money and got away with it. But Lauren Jauregui had been stumbling over her words and blushing because of _her_ , and it left her with an odd feeling in her stomach that distracted her for the rest of the game. 

 

* * *

Its late, almost midnight, and Camila makes her way into the kitchen to get some water from the tap. Taylor and Dinah fell asleep watching a movie in Taylor's room, and Camila is too tired to drive home so she just borrows a pair of Taylor's sweatpants and a t-shirt and decides to stay the night. She grabs a glass and turns on the sink, humming softly to herself in the dark kitchen. She almost spills her entire glass when she feels a pair of hands grab her sides.  

 

"What the hell!" She shrieks, releasing the cup and letting half the water fall out into the sink.  

 

She turns around and finds Lauren bent over and laughing hysterically. "You idiot!" She scolds the green- eyed girl and smacks her on the head. "You scared the shit out of me!" 

 

Lauren stands up straight and smiles apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I couldn’t _not_ scare you. It was the perfect opportunity." 

 

"What are you doing down here anyways?" Camila asks, finding it impossible to be annoyed. 

 

"Would you like the truth or a lie?" Lauren asks and leans back against the counter. 

 

"Hmm," Camila ponders, refilling her glass. "Whichever is more interesting." 

 

Lauren nods. "Truth it is then," She pauses for a moment, then speaks up. "I heard someone go downstairs. I was hoping it was you." 

 

"Well tonight's your lucky night, I guess. Here I am," Camila says awkwardly. 

 

Lauren picks an apple out of the fruit bowl and tosses it back and forth. A nervous habit, Camila decides. "I was hoping it would be you because I want to talk to you. I've been wanting to talk to you for a couple of days actually." 

 

Camila gulps, and there's an immediate change in the air that makes goosebumps rise on her skin. "Okay." 

 

Lauren steps closer, crossing into Camila's personal bubble. She sets the apple down on the counter and brings her hand up to Camila's face, ghosting her fingers along Camila's jaw. Their eyes lock. 

 

"God," Lauren breathes out. "You're so fucking beautiful." 

 

Camila doesn't even attempt to formulate a response. Instead she just focuses on remembering how to breathe.  

 

Lauren leans in ever so slowly. There's no question as to what's about to happen. She pulls Camila in by the hips, bringing their lips so close that Camila feels them brush when she mumbles "This doesn't look a lot like talking."                          

 

Lauren chuckles and Camila feels it vibrate against her mouth. "What more could I possibly have to say?" Lauren whispers. 

 

Camila can't wait any longer, so she presses her lips against Lauren's and wonders why she waited this long to kiss her. She feels every muscle in her body relax and a warm feeling settle in the pit of her stomach. Her knees go weak, and she thanks god that Lauren has a firm grip on her because she probably would have collapsed by now if she didn't. 

 

Lauren pulls away first, but her hands never leave Camila's side. She presses their foreheads together and finds Camila's eyes.  

 

Camila reaches up and plays with the hair on the back of Lauren's neck. "Wow..." She whispers breathlessly.

 

"Yeah..." Lauren responds. Camila would have to be blind to miss the pure adoration in her gaze.

 

“You know, you’re really good at the whole talking thing,” Camila jokes after a moment.

 

Lauren kisses it right off her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! So I totally left for a month but I am back with a new chapter that I am very excited about! Thank you guys for the comments, kudos, bookmarks, and to anyone who decided to click on this story. Also, Please let me know what you thought of this chapter I love reading your comments:) I hope to be back with another chapter a lot quicker this time.


	5. Sophomore Year Pt. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Picks up where the last chapter left off!

"So…you just kissed me," Camila blurts out after the heat of the moment fades away. They're standing in the middle of the dark kitchen at 12 in the morning and Camila thinks it makes perfect sense that they would have their first kiss in here. After all, it seems like all of their most important moments occur here.  

 

Lauren squeezes Camila's sides and smiles at her expectantly. "I did. Twice actually. And If we're getting technical you actually kissed me the first time." 

 

Despite the fact that Camila's greatest wish has come true, she almost can't believe it's real. She steps out of Lauren's hold and grabs for her glass of water, chugging the whole thing in seconds. She's feeling a bit overwhelmed by the situation. It's not in a bad way though. She's just extremely caught off guard and excited and scared all at once. 

 

"Why did you kiss me?" Camila asks, ignoring the fact that yes, she technically closed the gap first. But Lauren was the one that offered her lips up so willingly. She bites her lip and leans back against the counter. 

 

Lauren chuckles, not catching the shift in Camila's mood. "Traditionally when someone kisses you it means they're attracted to you. I'd say I definitely fall into that category." 

 

Camila sighs and begins pacing around the room, mumbling incoherent things under her breath. 

 

Lauren hurries over to her side. "Woah, Camz, are you alright?" She asks worriedly, placing a hand on Camila's elbow to stop her movements. "Look, if the kissing made you uncomfortable I swear I won't try anything again." 

 

Camila's eyes widen and she shakes her head furiously. "No! Please kiss me!" She says hurriedly then blushes once she realizes what she's just said. She slaps herself on the forehead. "Not what I meant. What I'm trying to say is no, it didn't make me uncomfortable. I'm really glad we kissed. I'm just…trying to let it all sink in." 

 

"Okay…" Lauren nods her head slowly, trying to make sense of Camila's rambling. She takes a step back and allows Camila some space. 

 

Camila struggles to express her thoughts. "Lauren, I like you. A lot. It's just…I don’t have any experience with this kind of stuff, so if anything is going to happen between us it might take a while for me to get caught up," She admits, choosing her words carefully.  "And also, I'm probably a really bad kisser, because I've never done it before." 

 

Lauren lets out a sigh of relief at Camila's reassurance. "You're amazing, Camz. And I'm not just talking about the kissing. You're just…stunning. Can I be honest with you?" She asks. 

 

Camila nods. "Of course." 

 

"I almost kissed you the night I left for college," Lauren begins. "I was so excited to be leaving," She recalls. "Then I walked into the kitchen and there you were. This doe eyed girl standing there in a sundress with a ridiculously cute bow on her head." Lauren reaches for Camila's hand. "It was like I was seeing you for the first time, you know? And I remember thinking to myself, 'You idiot.' Because you had been there all along, and I was too dumb to see it," She shakes her head, disappointed with herself. 

 

"So you've liked..." Camila begins but trails off. 

 

"Liked you for a while now?" Lauren finishes for her.  

 

Camila nods shyly. 

 

"Yeah, I have," Lauren admits.  

 

Camila's eyes widen. “Sorry. Its just…god I never thought this conversation would be happening,” She finishes with an astonished grin.

 

Lauren matches her smile and pulls Camila into a hug. "So, we're okay?"  

 

"More than okay," Camila assures her and holds her tight. 

 

Lauren pulls away after a moment. "Does this mean I can kiss you again?"  

 

Camila laughs, wholeheartedly and genuinely. "Of course. Just don't laugh at me if I suck." 

 

Lauren shakes her head. "Not possible."  

 

When Camila feels Lauren's lips for the third time that night, it's not spontaneous, it's not rushed, and it's not in the heat of the moment.  It's slow and it's soft and it feels like maybe her heart has found a home. 

 

* * *

 

 

So, here's the thing about being with Lauren. Camila like, loves it. Lauren is patient and understanding and stares at her like she's the most beautiful girl in the world, and Camila finds herself falling for her. Hard. 

 

They spend almost all of their time together because they know they don't have much of it. Lauren may have gotten five weeks off of school, but by the middle of January she'll be due back in New York.  

 

They don't talk about that though. Their relationship, or whatever it is they have going on, is already up against enough odds without throwing long distance into the mix.  

 

The main issue being Taylor, who is completely oblivious to the new development. Lauren likes it that way, and Camila has never been with someone before, so she assumes that Lauren is keeping them a secret from Taylor with both of their best interests in mind. It's just...way more difficult than she thought it would be. 

 

Sneaking around is fun and all, but trying to hide from Taylor in her own home isn’t exactly the most practical objective. Camila would gladly invite Lauren over to her house if it weren’t for the fact that her parents would probably kill her if they knew about the two of them. And okay, she could totally lie and say that Lauren is simply her friend, but her mother is like a walking lie detector. So yeah, she’s just trying to save herself from unnecessary embarrassment.

That’s how they end up in Lauren’s living room watching a movie. No one is due home for at least another hour, which is one of the perks of Lauren having an extremely busy family.

 

It’s a stupid horror film, which Camila absolutely despises because scary movies terrify her. Lauren on the other hand finds them to be a complete joke, and she spends the duration of the movie making fun of the stupidity of the characters and the low budget special effects.  

 

At one particular part, the axe murderer comes flying out from behind a corner and Camila is so unprepared that she abandons the pillow she's hiding behind and jumps right into Lauren's lap. 

 

Lauren puts her hands on Camila's hips to steady her, raising an eyebrow. "You alright there?" 

 

Camila slaps Lauren on the arm. "Do I look alright? This movie is terrifying!"  

 

"Why didn't you say anything when we were choosing the movie?" Lauren asks, talking over the loud screams coming from the TV. 

 

"Because you let me choose every time and I felt bad," Camila admits with a frown. 

 

Lauren raises an eyebrow. "Felt? As in past tense?"

 

"Yes," Camila nods. "I don't feel bad anymore. I'm choosing from now on," She declares resolutely. 

 

Lauren chuckles and moves her hands to Camila's back, rubbing up and down soothingly. "Is that so?" 

 

Camila smiles cheekily. "Yes." 

 

Lauren leans in and kisses her slowly. Camila grips her shirt collar loosely and runs her fingers through Lauren's hair. They've been tentatively exploring each other since their first kiss a little over a week ago, and Lauren barely stifles a moan when Camila manages to slip her tongue past her lips. 

 

"Woah," Lauren says once they pull apart. "Keep kissing me like that and you can pick the movie as many times as you want." 

 

"Hmm…." Camila ponders out loud. "What else can I get you to offer?" 

 

Lauren smiles and shakes her head. "I'm pretty sure I'd give you anything you wanted if you asked." 

 

"Are you always this cheesy?" Camila asks with playful curiosity. 

 

"When it comes to you, yes," Lauren tells her, kissing her jaw. 

 

Camila tucks her head into Lauren's shoulder and sighs happily. Lauren's arms wrap securely around her and she decides that there's no better form of happiness than this one. And yeah, this thing between them is incredibly new and they haven't discussed the idea of a relationship or attempted to put labels on it, but Camila doesn't mind. Lauren is here with her right now, looking at her with so much tenderness that it makes her breath hitch. 

 

"Hey guys!" Dinah's abrupt appearance makes both girls jump apart with wide eyes.  

 

Camila holds a hand over her heart, sighing in relief. "Thank god, it's just you."  

 

Dinah raises an eyebrow at the pair. Lauren is staring back at the TV with her hands tucked into the pockets of her hoodie, avoiding eye contact at all costs. Camila smiles sheepishly. "You guys could at least be a little more subtle," The Tongan girl points out, crossing her arms. 

 

"You told her?" Lauren whips her head towards Camila.  

 

Oh yeah. So Lauren may have actually told Camila that she wanted to keep their interactions a secret from everyone, not just Taylor. But Camila couldn't contain her excitement and of course she woke Dinah up after she snuck back up the stairs the night they first kissed. 

 

Dinah laughs at Lauren's wide eyed reaction. "She didn't have to tell me," She walks over to Camila and turns her head to the side, exposing her neck that happens to be marked with traces of Lauren's lip-gloss. "Like I said, totally not subtle." 

 

Lauren blushes and Camila places a comforting hand on her shoulder.  

 

"You're not going to--" Lauren begins, looking extremely worried. 

 

"--Tell anyone?" Dinah finishes for her. "No. Your secret is safe with me," Dinah tries to smile reassuringly. 

 

Lauren smiles back at her nervously. "Thank you. I just--" 

 

Dinah holds out a hand to stop her. "Its okay, you don’t have to explain anything to me. I'm gonna go wait for Taylor upstairs, okay? I'll talk to you later, Walz," She tells Camila and pats her on the back before leaving. 

 

Camila squeezes Lauren's shoulder to get her attention. The older girl doesn’t seem mad. She appears more contemplative if anything. Either way she looks rather flustered and Camila decides she needs to find out why. 

 

 "Hey," She says when Lauren looks at her. "You okay?" 

 

Lauren sighs, moving on the couch so her head rests on Camila's lap. Her whole demeanor seems to have shifted. Camila brings her fingers to Lauren's hair, gently massaging her scalp.  

 

"Yeah. I'm fine," The green eyed girl says with a sense of finality that lets Camila know not to push the issue. Instead she just wraps her arms around Lauren and hugs her tight, hoping that it's what she needs.  

 

Lauren grabs for the remote and picks a random rom-com off of Netflix. They watch the movie in silence until Camila feels the gentle rise and fall of Lauren's chest against her thighs.

 

She kisses Lauren on the forehead when she leaves, deciding against waking her up. She takes one last look at the sleeping girl and knows the odd feeling settling in her chest means they might be in trouble.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's get this ball rolling again ;)


End file.
